The issues of authentication and counterfeit deterrence can be important in many contexts. Bills of currency, stock and bond certificates, credit cards, passports, bills of lading, as well as many other legal documents (e.g., deeds, wills, etc.) All must be reliably authentic to be useful. Authentication and avoidance of counterfeiting can also be important in many less obvious contexts. For example, improved verification/counterfeiting prevention mechanisms would be very useful in, for example, verifying the contents of shipping containers, quickly identifying individuals with particular health or criminal histories, etc. Counterfeit products are, by definition, unauthorized copies of a product, its packaging, labeling, and/or its logo(s). Attractive targets for counterfeiters are items with significant brand equity or symbolic value, where the cost of production is below the market value.
In the commercial manufacturing world, it is not uncommon for counterfeit or otherwise unauthorized goods to be manufactured, distributed, and sold in direct competition with authentic goods. Counterfeiting has reached epidemic proportions worldwide, especially in the area of consumer goods including goods made from fabric, plastic, leather, metal, or combinations thereof such as clothing, handbags and wallets, perfumes, and other consumer goods. Electronics and software products are also particular targets of counterfeiters, who appropriate the value of trademarks or copyrights without license. Since costs savings based on decreased incremental cost of production (exclusive of license fees) is not a necessary element in the counterfeiting scheme, the counterfeit articles may be of apparently high quality and closely resemble authentic articles. Indeed, counterfeit articles can so closely resemble genuine goods that consumers readily confuse the counterfeit articles with the authentic articles. In other circumstances, the manufacturer segments the world market for different sales and distribution practices, so that the "counterfeit" goods may be essentially identical to authorized goods. Further, in many instances, a manufacturer produces goods under license from an intellectual property owner, and thus sales outside the terms of the license agreement are also "counterfeit".
In the U.S. alone, crime and/or fraud prevention is a multi-billion dollar market. In the commercial sector, the marking of every day products such as jeans, cosmetics and compact disk/video tapes, software, etc. can prevent the counterfeiting (bootleg) and import of fraudulent copies unauthorized by the legitimate producers.
A wide variety of attempts have been made to limit the likelihood of counterfeiting. For example, some have tried to assure the authenticity of items by putting encoded or unencoded markings thereon (e.g., an artist's signature on his or her painting). Unfortunately, as soon as the code is broken--e.g., a counterfeiter learns to duplicate a signature, this method becomes worthless for authentication purposes. In the context of paper products (e.g., currency), counterfeiting-prevention methods have also used two-dimensional authentication mechanisms--e.g., watermarks or special threads incorporated within the paper used to make the currency. These mechanisms are clearly helpful, but they can also be overcome. For example, counterfeiters routinely bleach a one-dollar bill (in such a way that the colored threads that mark the special currency paper are not damaged) and then imprint the markings of a one hundred-dollar bill thereon. Thus, the mere release of physical security materials into the market forms one limitation on their unfettered use.
Other authentication methods have utilized mechanisms that provide three dimensions of data. For example, the holograms provided on many credit cards provide more variables (i.e., relative to two-dimensional threads or watermarks) which may be precalibrated, and thereafter, used to verify the authenticity of an item. Nevertheless, since holograms have a pre-set, or deterministic, pattern they may also be duplicated and counterfeit products made. Further, since the holograms are invariant, they are subject to pilferage before application to goods, or translocation from authorized to unauthorized goods in the marketplace. Authentication mechanisms, which utilize deterministic patterns, are inherently vulnerable to counterfeiting since the counterfeiter, in essence, has a "fixed" target to shoot at. High security schemes, such as military codes, have encryption keys that change frequently. This method, however, assists prospectively in securing valuable time-sensitive information, and does not prevent subsequent decryption of a previously transmitted message. At the other end of the spectrum, a random element-based authentication mechanism would provide an incessantly "moving" and nonrepeating target that would be practically impossible to undetectably duplicate, without knowledge of the encoding scheme.
Finally, although existing authentication mechanisms provide adequate protection against counterfeiting in some contexts, increasingly powerful tools are available to decode encrypted messages, making more secure schemes necessary for long-term protection. For example, in conjunction with its monitoring and surveillance activities, governments routinely seek to break or circumvent encryption codes. The technologies employed are then quickly adopted by the private sector, and indeed government regulations seek to maintain weak encryption standards, facilitating codebreaking. In addition to computers, current counterfeiters have access to extremely powerful tools for undermining physical copy-protection schemes--e.g., color photocopying equipment, reverse engineering of semiconductor chips, etc. These factors have combined to continually provoke strong demand for new methods and mechanisms for authenticating items, especially methods and mechanisms that are less vulnerable to counterfeiting and/or employ new copy-protection mechanisms.
The security issue for a broad class of labeled consumer goods, in one sense, boils down to whether someone can mass produce a counterfeit label with a corresponding security code without being detected. At one extreme, a simple photocopy of a label would indeed work if the scanner simply looked for the location of indicia, such as two-dimensionally located fibers. The use of fluorescent fibers would require the scanner to properly illuminate the fibers to cause them to fluoresce and discriminate against a fiber that fluoresces with the wrong color. Dichroic fibers would require discrimination against fibers that differentially reflect or transmit light based on the polarization as well as color of illuminating source, and means for duplicating the pattern once detected. Clearly, the more factors that are involved the better. Thus, security features, which require specialized equipment to measure and duplicate are preferred measures.
One issue, which arises in existing technologies, is the robustness of the scheme in distinguishing authentic from counterfeit. If the authentication scheme is too strict, genuine articles will be rejected due to minor variations, such as environmental changes or exposure, deformation, or the like. On the other hand, if the authentication scheme is not strict, counterfeit goods may pass, or counterfeiters may learn to fool the authentication system into authenticating counterfeit goods on a regular basis.
PRIOR ART
ANTI-COUNTERFEITING LABEL SCHEMES
U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,561, incorporated herein by reference, suggests a system that provides an authenticating, tracking/anti-diversion, and anti-counterfeiting system that can track various goods. The system includes a control computer, a host computer, a marking system, and a field reader system, which are all compatible and can be physically linked via data transmission links. An identifiable and unique mark is placed on each good, or on materials out of which the goods are to be made, which enables subsequent inspection. The marks or patterns include areas where a marking agent is applied in an encrypted pattern and areas where it is not applied. The pattern can be scanned or captured by a reader and deciphered into encoded data. The entry can then either be compared directly to a set of authentic entries on a database or decoded and compared to a set of data on the centrally located host database. The marking system provides control over imprinting, allowing a limited number of authorized codes to be printed before reauthorization is required. In order to provide marking validation, a camera captures images of imprints. After imprinting of the encoded marking, an image of the marking is obtained and centrally authenticated as a valid code, which may be stored in a database along with stored pertinent information pertaining to this specific product. Monitoring of the marked goods is facilitated by including a unique encrypted pattern having, for example, a unique owner identifier, a unique manufacturer identifier, a unique plant identifier, a unique destination identifier, and time and date information.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,367,148, 5,283,422, and 4,814,589, incorporated herein by reference, provide systems for detecting counterfeit objects by employing ID codes having random number components which are stored in a database of authorized ID codes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,319, incorporated herein by reference, provides a system wherein an object, such as currency, is randomly marked, such as with an ink jet printer. Counterfeiting of the object by copying is detected by sensing duplication of the random pattern.
SELF-AUTHENTICATING IMPRINTED CODES
WO 97/25177, Shachrai et al., incorporated herein by reference, relates to a gemstone marking method and apparatus, in which, in one embodiment provides an encryption code which is inscribed on the gemstone which is based, in part, on a random or irreproducible characteristic of the gemstone.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,924, incorporated herein by reference, relates to a digital camera with an apparatus for authentication of images produced from an image file. U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,302, incorporated herein by reference, relates to a method for authenticating objects based on a public key cryptography method encoding an ascertainable characteristic of the object, such as a serial number.
PHYSICAL SECURITY SCHEMES--OPTICAL
U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,790, incorporated herein by reference, provides a multiple-reader system for authentication of articles based on multiple sensed fluorescent discriminating variables, such as wavelengths, amplitudes, and time delays relative to a modulated illuminating light. The fluorescent indicia incorporates spatial distributions such as bar codes as discriminating features, to define a user-determined and programmable encryption of the articles' authentic identity.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,579, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a decorative composite article, which may be longitudinally slit to form a yarn product, which has a combined phosphorescent and fluorescent decorative appearance. The composite article includes paired outer layers of a thermoplastic resin between which is disposed a decorative layer comprising a composition including a colorant component having a phosphorescent colorant and a fluorescent colorant, and a resin binder material. The fluorescent colorant is present in an amount by weight that is up to an amount equal to that of the phosphorescent colorant. The present binder material may be selected from polyester, polyurethane and acrylic polymers and copolymers, with a mixture of butadiene-acrylonitrile rubber and polyurethane composition being preferred. The composite article is prepared by coating two resin films with the composition, followed by contacting the films with each other on their coated surfaces and applying heat and pressure to bond them together to form the decorative composite article.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,154, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a method and apparatus for recognizing colored patterns. The method includes encoding the colors of individual picture elements in a fabric pattern by comparing the level of transmittance or reflectance of the picture element at pre-selected wavelengths with stored values representing a reference color to generate a multibit code indicative of the color of the picture element. A comparator used for this purpose incorporates an error either proportional to the wavelength or of constant value so that the output of the comparator will indicate identity with the stored value if the input value for the picture element is within a certain range of the stored value.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,839,637, incorporated herein by reference, discloses the impregnation of spaced courses of yarn in a fabric with a material which is not visible under daylight, but which is visible only when subjected to ultra-violet light, so as to provide guide lines for cutting, or measuring indicia to enable visual counting of the number of yards of cloth in a roll from the end thereof without the necessity of unrolling the bolt.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,547, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a method for authenticating articles including incorporating into a carrier composition a mixture of at least two photochromic compounds that have different absorption maxima in the activated state and other different properties to form the authenticating display data on the article, subjecting the display data to various steps of the authenticating method, activation of all photochromic compounds, preferential bleaching of less than all of the photochromic compounds, and/or bleaching of all the photochromic compounds, and subsequent examination of the display data following the various activation and bleaching steps by verifying means to enable authentication.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,205, incorporated herein by reference, discloses an identification method and identification kit based upon making up groups of microsized particles normally visible to the naked eye with each particle in each group being of a selected uniform size, shape and color. Coded identification is established by transferring a population of particles from a selected number of the groups to the item to be identified and then confirming such identification by examining the marked item under high magnification with a light microscope.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,332, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a scanning fluorescent detection system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,527, incorporated herein by reference, provides optical security articles and methods for making same, having layers of varying refractive index forming an image, which is viewable only across a narrow range of viewing angles and is viewable in ambient (diffuse) light, thus affording a readily apparent verification of the authenticity of the substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,950, incorporated herein by reference, provides negative birefringent rigid rod polymer films, formed of a class of soluble polymers having a rigid rod backbone, which when used to cast films, undergo a self-orientation process aligning the polymer backbone parallel to the film surface, resulting in a film that displays negative birefringence.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,953, incorporated herein by reference, provides optical recording media having optically variable security properties. Thin film structures, which have an inherent color shift with viewing angle, provide both optically variable security properties and optical data decodable by optical means. The multilayer interference coating has a dielectric material, which is transparent, and a recording layer made of a light absorbing material, a crystalline-structural changing material, or a magneto-optic material. Data is encoded optically or photolithographically as bar codes or digital data.
PHYSICAL SECURITY SCHEMES--PRINTED
The use of optically variable pigments has been described in the art for a variety of applications, such as inks for counterfeit-proof applications such as currency, and generically for coating compositions. They are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,434,010, 4,704,356, 4,779,898, 4,838,648, 4,930,866, 5,059,245, 5,135,812, 5,171,363, and 5,214,530, incorporated herein by reference. Pigments of these types are prepared by depositing inorganic transparent dielectric layers, semi-transparent metal layers, and metal reflecting layers onto a flexible web, and separating the layers from the web in such a manner as to fragment the deposited thin film layer structure into pigment particles. These particles are in the form of irregularly shaped flat pigment flakes. These pigments are capable of producing dramatic visual effects, including dichroic effects not observed in other types of pigments. A multilayer thin film interference structure is formed having at least one metal reflecting layer, at least one transparent dielectric layer, and at least one semi-transparent metal layer. Various combinations of these layers can be utilized to achieve the desired optically variable effect. Layer thickness can be varied according to the particular desired characteristics of the pigment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,812, incorporated herein by reference, describes useful thickness being on the order of 80 nm for the metal reflecting layer, 5 nm for the semi-opaque metal layers, and thickness of a plurality of halfwaves of the particular design wavelength for the transparent dielectric layers.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,193,853, and 5,018,767, incorporated herein by reference, provide anticounterfeiting methods wherein a marked image has a minute dot or line pitch which varies from normal scanning resolution of typical copying devices, making such mechanical copying detectable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,514,085, incorporated herein by reference, provides a method for authenticating documents by marking the document with an encapsulated liquid crystal, and then observing the document under conditions which exploit the unique optical characteristics of liquid crystals.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,349, incorporated herein by reference, provides a currency security system employing synthetic layers and sublimatable dye-formed images on the layers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,683, incorporated herein by reference, provides a photocopy resistant document, having a background pattern or logo which is printed with solvent-sensitive, dye based ink. The presence of this photocopy-resistant background pattern or logo limits copying.
PHYSICAL SECURITY SCHEMES--ELECTROMAGNETIC
U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,381, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,931, incorporated herein by reference, relate to system and method for authenticating labels based on a random distribution of magnetic particles within the label and an encrypted code representing the distribution printed on the label, and possibly data imprinted on the label.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,165, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a method of marking garments with a substance detectable by magnetic detecting devices. When the magnetized substance on the garment part is detected in a process of making garments, subsequent garment making steps are actuated in response to the detection of the stitching.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,912, incorporated herein by reference, provides a method and apparatus utilizing microwaves for authenticating documents, having a random distribution of stainless steel fibers embedded and scattered in a card base member. Microwaves are applied to a large number of metallic wires which are embedded and scattered at random in a document or a card, and a proper digital mark responsive to a response microwave signature is recorded in a suitable region of the document or card according to specific rules. To check the authenticity of the document or card, microwaves are applied to the document or card, and a response microwave signature is collated with the digital mark. The document or card is determined as being authentic when the microwave signature and the mark correspond.
PHYSICAL SECURITY SCHEMES--FILMS AND EMBEDDED FILAMENTS
U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,784, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a document security system that optically reveals erasures or modifications of printed matter.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,391,479, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a card security system that provides a dichroic film covering information on the card.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,706, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a document security system provided by a fused polymer net within a paper pulp substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,247,318, incorporated herein by reference, provides a security paper formed from non-woven polyethylene film-fibril sheets.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,186,943, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a banknote or document security system that provides an optically distinctive thin film structure in the body of the banknote or document.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,445,039, incorporated herein by reference, discloses an encoded document security system having a security element with a readable physical characteristic.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,015, incorporated herein by reference, discloses security paper for banknotes and currency having a metalized film having fine imprinting thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,617, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a document security system provides dissolvable strips of microcarrier material having encoding thereon which persists after the carrier dissolves. U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,935, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a document security system provides a dissolvable carrier web material having encoding thereon which attaches to the paper fibers and persists after the web dissolves.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,099, incorporated herein by reference, provides an anticounterfeiting method for currency and the like having embedded micro image security features, such as holograms and diffraction gratings.
ENCRYPTION AND ENCODING SCHEMES
U.S. Pat. No. 5,426,700, incorporated herein by reference, provides a public key/private key system for verification of classes of documents, to verify the information content thereof. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,420,924, and 5,384,846, incorporated herein by reference, provide secure identification cards bearing an image of the object to be authenticated. U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,158, incorporated herein by reference, provides a method for making a document secure against tampering or alteration.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,375,170, 5,263,085, and 4,405,829, incorporated herein by reference, provide encryption and digital signature schemes. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,600,725, and 5,604,804, incorporated herein by reference, provide public key-private key encryption systems. U.S. Pat. No. 5,166,978, incorporated herein by reference, provides a microcontroller for implementing so-called RSA schemes. A so-called public key/private key encryption protocol, such as available from RSA, Redwood Calif., may be used to label the workpiece with a "digital signature". See, "A Method for Obtaining Digital Signatures and Public Key Cryptosystems" by R. L. Rivest, A. Shamir and L. Adelmann, Communications of ACM 21(2):120-126 (February 1978), expressly incorporated herein by reference. In this case, an encoding party codes the data using an appropriate algorithm, with a so-called private key. To decode the message, one must be in possession of a second code, called a public key because it may be distributed to the public and is associated with the encoding party. Upon use of this public key, the encrypted message is deciphered, and the identity of the encoding party verified. In this scheme, the encoding party need not be informed of the verification procedure. Known variations on this scheme allow private communications between parties or escrowed keys to ensure security of the data except under exceptional authentication procedures. See also, W. Diffie and M. E. Hellman, "New directions in cryptography", IEEE Trans. Information Theory, Vol. IT-22, pp. 644-654, November 1976; R. C. Merkle and M. E. Hellman, "Hiding information and signatures in trapdoor knapsacks", IEEE Trans. Information Theory, Vol. IT-24, pp. 525-530, September 1978; Fiat and Shamir, "How to prove yourself: practical solutions to identification and signature problems", Proc. Crypto 86, pp. 186-194 (August 1986); "DSS: specifications of a digital signature algorithm", National Institute of Standards and Technology, Draft, August 1991; and H. Fell and W. Diffie, "Analysis of a public key approach based on polynomial substitution", Proc. Crypto. (1985), pp. 340-349, expressly incorporated herein by reference.
Another encoding scheme uses a DES-type encryption system, which does not allow decoding of the message by the public, but only by authorized persons in possession of the codes. This therefore requires involvement of the encoding party, who decodes the message and assists in stone authentication.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,191,613, 5,163,091, 5,606,609, and 4,981,370, incorporated herein by reference, provide document authentication systems using electronic notary techniques. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,142,577, 5,073,935, and 4,853,961, incorporated herein by reference, provide digital notary schemes for authenticating electronic documents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,655, incorporated herein by reference, provides a document authentication scheme which employs a public key-private key scheme and which further employs unscrambled information from the document.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,051, incorporated herein by reference, provides a system for printing encrypted messages which are difficult to forge or alter.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,201, incorporated herein by reference, provides an electronic transaction verification system that employs random number values to encode transaction data.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,250, incorporated herein by reference, provides a method for detecting counterfeit codes based on a low density coding scheme and an authentication algorithm.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,464,690 and 4,913,858, incorporated herein by reference, relate to certificates having holographic security devices.
See also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,150,781; 4,494,381; 4,637,051; 4,864,618; 4,972,475; 4,982,437; 5,075,862; 5,142,577; 5,227,617; 5,283,422; 5,285,382; 5,337,361; 5,337,362; 5,380,047; 5,370,763; 5,243,641; 4,514,085; 4,199,615; 4,059,471; 4,178,404; 4,121,003, 5,422,954; 5,113,445; 4,893,338; 4,995,081; 4,879,747; 4,868,877; 4,853,961; 4,812,965; 4,507,744; and EP 0,328,320, incorporated herein by reference.
Thus, there remains a need for a system and method for controlling, enabling, and directing marking of goods during the manufacturing process and enabling detection/cross-validation of the marks so that the goods are uniquely identified and tracked throughout the stream of commerce. In addition, there remains a need for a method and system for marking such that the markings are not readily reproducible with commonly available devices and so that the markings contain sufficient information for product authentication, identification, and tracking. There also remains a need for an article marking method wherein the marking is particularized for the individual article and therefore preventing an otherwise authentic label from being placed on a different article, and preventing forgery of the label or the associated object.
There further exists a need for improved systems and methods which provide security features for labeling and anticounterfeiting schemes, providing physical security, which is applicable to mass market consumer goods, i.e., a system which is low cost, easy to apply, have secure hardware designs, and are easily authenticated by both physical security and identification codes. Heretofore, such systems have had various shortcomings.